Modern gaming systems provide a wide variety of games in an effort to capture and maintain players' interest and thereby encourage play. In addition to attractive and exciting graphics, games may offer bonus games in addition to a primary game available at a gaming machine. In the case of bonus games, play typically begins in a primary game and then moves to one or more levels of bonus games in response to some trigger in the course of play. Both primary and bonus games may provide some level of player interaction in addition to simply placing a wager and initiating play in the game. Some gaming machines provide simulated skill games in which the prize for a given play is predetermined and not truly determined by the player interaction. These simulated skill games present the problem of making the interaction seem realistic even though the prize is predetermined and not ultimately based on the player's inputs in the game.